Brave and Bold | Page 7

for her to draw upon.
As I told you, I want to surprise her by and by. So not a word, if you
please, about this deposit."
"Your wishes shall be regarded," said the superintendent. "Have you
brought the money with you?"
"Yes," said the captain, drawing from his pocket a large wallet. "I have
got the whole amount here in large bills. Count it, if you please, and see
that it is all right."
The superintendent took the roll of bills from the hands of his neighbor,
and counted them over twice.
"It is quite right," he said. "Here are five thousand dollars. Now let me
write you a receipt for them."
He drew before him a sheet of paper, and dipping his pen in the
inkstand, wrote a receipt in the usual form, which he handed back to the
captain, who received it and put it back in his wallet.
"Now," said the captain, in a tone of satisfaction, "my most important

business is transacted. You will keep this money, investing it according
to your best judgment. If anything should happen to me," he added, his
voice faltering a little, "you will pay it over to my wife and child."
"Assuredly," said the superintendent; "but don't let us think of such a
sad contingency. I fully expect to pay it back into your own hands with
handsome interest."
"Let us hope so," said the captain, recovering his cheerfulness. "Our
destinies are in the hands of a kind Providence. And now good-by! I
leave early to-morrow morning, and I must pass the rest of the evening
with my own family."
"Good-night, captain," said the superintendent, accompanying him to
the door. "I renew my wish that you have a prosperous and profitable
voyage, and be restored in good time to your family and friends."
"Amen!" said the captain.
The superintendent went back to his study, his heart lightened of its
anxiety.
"Could anything be more fortunate?" he ejaculated, "This help comes
to me just when it is most needed. Thanks to my special deposit, I can
make my semi-annual settlement, and have two thousand dollars over.
It's lucky the captain knows nothing of my Wall Street speculations. He
might not have been quite so ready to leave his money in my hands. It's
not a bad thing to be a banker," and he rubbed his hands together with
hilarity.
CHAPTER IV.
THE VOICE OF CONSCIENCE.
When the superintendent accepted Captain Rushton's money, he did not
intend to act dishonestly. He hailed it as a present relief, though he
supposed he should have to repay it some time. His accounts being
found correct, he went on with his speculations. In these he met with

varying success. But on the whole he found himself no richer, while he
was kept in a constant fever of anxiety.
After some months, he met Mrs. Rushton in the street one day.
"Have you heard from your husband, Mrs. Rushton?" he inquired.
"No, Mr. Davis, not yet. I am beginning to feel anxious."
"How long has he been gone?"
"Between seven and eight months."
"The voyage is a long one. There are many ways of accounting for his
silence."
"He would send by some passing ship. He has been to Calcutta before,
but I have never had to wait so long for a letter."
The superintendent uttered some commonplace phrases of assurance,
but in his own heart there sprang up a wicked hope that the Norman
would never reach port, and that he might never set eyes on Captain
Rushton again. For in that case, he reflected, it would be perfectly safe
for him to retain possession of the money with which he had been
intrusted. The captain had assured him that neither his wife nor son
knew aught of his savings. Who then could detect his crime? However,
it was not yet certain that the Norman was lost. He might yet have to
repay the money.
Six months more passed, and still no tidings of the ship or its
commander. Even the most sanguine now gave her up for lost,
including the owners. The superintendent called upon them, ostensibly
in behalf of Mrs. Rushton, and learned that they had but slender hopes
of her safety. It was a wicked thing to rejoice over such a calamity, but
his affairs were now so entangled that a sudden demand for the five
thousand dollars would have ruined him. He made up his mind to say
nothing of the special deposit, though he knew the loss of it would
leave the captain's family in the deepest poverty. To soothe his

conscience--for he was wholly destitute of one--he received Robert into
the factory, and the boy's wages, as we already know, constituted their
main support.
Such was the state of things at